John Putch’s latest feel-good Christmas miracle film, A Biltmore Christmas, revolves around Lucy (Bethany Joy Lenz), a scriptwriter who lands the job of a lifetime and joins as a screenwriter for a major production company. Lucy’s first gig was to write the script for the remake of a highly successful classic called “His Merry Wife.” However, Lucy changed the ending, giving the story a modern touch. Lucy claimed that with her script, they could bring the film into the 21st century, something that the modern audience would relate to. The audience needed something modern and something real, claimed Lucy, but her boss, Michael Balaban (Tommy Cresswell), wasn’t too thrilled to see the changes.
Spoilers Ahead
How Did Lucy Travel Back In Time?
Lucy’s boss, Michael Balaban, didn’t share Lucy’s enthusiasm and told her to visit Biltmore Castle in person, the location where the original film was shot. William West, the writer of the original film, also stayed in the castle when he was working on the film. Michael figured that the place could have the same effect on Lucy, too. Lucy, not being too excited about it, had no choice but to agree. Lucy really needed this job, and this movie could really put her on the map and skyrocket her stagnant career. As soon as Lucy settled into her room, she was invited for a customary Biltmore House tour by the host, Winston (Jonathan Frakes). While touring the estate, Lucy flipped an hourglass and was immediately transported to the time when the original movie was being filmed. At first, Lucy thought this was some sort of prank, but she couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the original cast members. However, rather than freaking out, Lucy figured this could be a blessing in disguise. Lucy reasoned she could use this chance to find out more about the original movie so she could pen a better script for the remake.
What Did Lucy Find Out About “The Merry Wife”?
It wasn’t long until Lucy figured out that all she needed to do was put the hourglass upside down to travel back in time. However, Lucy realized that if she wasn’t back in an hour, she would permanently get stuck in the past. Lucy ran into Jack Huston (Kristoffer Polaha), and he immediately took a liking to her, probably because she reminded him of himself. During their conversation, Lucy found out that the director, William West (David Alexander), had actually decided on an alternate ending. This climax was more melancholy and bittersweet, something similar to Lucy’s script for the remake version. However, for some reason, the director changed the ending from tragic to feel-good.
No one knew why William West did it, and since everyone who was associated with the film had died, there was no way for Lucy to figure it out either. Lucy didn’t plan on backing down and wouldn’t have rested until she found out why William West changed the ending. Lucy gathered that if she could find the answer, she could convince Michael to go with her more realistic ending. Unfortunately, the next time Lucy was in the past, she accidentally broke the hourglass. This was a huge blunder, as, without the hourglass, Lucy couldn’t return to her original time. Also, this was the least of Lucy’s problems, as in her original timeline, the hourglass was going into a Smithsonian curator’s private collection right after the Christmas party. This meant Lucy had just one day to fix the hourglass, find out her answers, and return to her own time.
Why Did William West Choose A Somber Ending?
As established earlier, William West had chosen a different ending at first, but it was rewritten. Like Lucy, William, too, was of the idea that life wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine. Rather, it was a gamble, where one rarely gets a happy ending. It was possible that William’s decision to write a sad ending stemmed from his failed marriage. William was always engrossed in his work, traveling for his films. This left his wife lonely, and when it became too much for her to bear, she broke it off. Lucy’s school of thought was exactly the same. She, too, believed that happy and feel-good endings were a thing of the past and weren’t very realistic. However, Jack had a different view. Even though he spoke highly of director William West, he wasn’t happy with the somber ending. Jack had an alteration in mind but was told to just do his job and read his lines. Eventually, on Lucy’s advice, William called his wife and apologized for all those years, and it worked. This made William realize that the characters in his movie also deserved the same happy ending. Thus, it was Lucy who made William change his mind.
Why Did Ava Quit The Film?
Ava (Annabelle Borke) quit the film after finding out that the producers were planning to scrap her role and cast another actress. Lancaster (Colton Little) had been planning to get rid of Ava ever since she joined the film, and since she was always in discord with him, the rumor about the recasting made more sense to her. This was incorrect, as William West had no plans to replace Ava, as he had fought tooth and nail to convince Harold Balaban (Robert Picardo) to cast her in the first place. William knew if the word of Ava quitting the film caught fire, Harold would jump at the chance to bring in another actress. Fortunately, Christmas was all about miracles. Since Lucy was from the future, she knew how successful Ava’s role was in the film. She and Jack tricked Ava by suggesting that it was for the better that she was stepping down, as she would never be able to do justice to the role. Ava was also told that her replacement was some mediocre actress, and fearing that someone might ruin the role, she agreed to return.
Did Lucy Get Her Christmas Miracle?
In between their hearty laughs and walks around town, Jack Houston fell for Lucy’s charm and innocence. On Christmas Eve, the actor jumped on the chance and confessed his feelings to her. This was completely unexpected, as Lucy never figured that she would meet Jack Huston and fall for him. Lucy came clean to Jack, asking to help her get back to the past. Lucy’s truth was exposed, and everyone learned that she wasn’t working for Harold Balaban. Fortunately, Lucy returned to her own timeline before Harold and his sycophant, Lancaster, could catch her. Even though the hourglass was fixed, Lucy was left heartbroken. No matter how hard Lucy tried, she couldn’t get Jack out of her mind. Although Lucy’s love story was left unfinished, she learned an important lesson: Michael Balaban was right, and happy endings were too part of life, just not for her. Lucy rewrote the climax again and gave it the finale it was supposed to have.
So, did Lucy get her Christmas miracle? Yes, like everyone else, Lucy, too got her Christmas miracle. Towards the end of A Biltmore Christmas, Jack used the hourglass and traveled into the future. Jack had tried thousands of times to get the hourglass to bring him to the future, but it never worked until now. Jack wanted to be with Lucy more than anything and was even willing to throw away his promising acting career. Jack had even planted a cover story about his death in case the hourglass worked, and he was transported into the future. Jack promised never to leave Lucy’s side, and the film ended with the duo sharing a passionate kiss in front of the Biltmore Castle.
A Biltmore Christmas started with Lucy believing that happy endings were nothing but lies. She was convinced that life didn’t have fairy-tale endings. But when Jack entered her life, he became the catalyst for a shift in Lucy’s worldview. Lucy started to see life through a different lens and accepted the possibility that maybe everyone deserved a shot at their own happy ending. Even though Jack’s character was going through a predicament in the film where he couldn’t end up with the woman he loved. He even had to sacrifice his wings to make sure she ended up with someone else. However, in the real world, Jack created his own love story with Lucy, and thanks to a Christmas miracle, he got a second chance to tell her how he felt about her.
